- I finished Stephen's King latest, Later, earlier this week. Now that's a confusing sentence. It's not his best that's for sure. He seems to be falling back on easy tropes more often than he has before, or at least those tropes have become more obvious. But even off-the-boil King is good King, and it was a pleasure to lose myself in it.
- After I finished Later I absolutely devoured Hari Kunzru's new one, Red Pill. This one blew me away. Just loved it.
- Two films this week. The first was Elaine May's 1976 cult, ganster(ish) film Mikey and Nicky, which I watched on the Criterion channel. I can see why people love this film, and I can watch Peter Falk do just about anything, but John Cassavetes triggers a whole load of anxieties in me, and not in a good way (see Uncut Gems for a great example of that - the Safdie brthers are big fans of Mikey and Nicky btw). People talk about 'loving' Cassavetes' character despite his (many) flaws. I just wanted him to calm down most of the time.
- The second film was Nomadland, which is as good as everyone says it is. Frances McDormand's face is utterly captivating. It does make you very sad for what's happening in those lost American towns though.
- Larry McMurtry died this week. He was (among a lot of other things) the author of the Lonesome deries of books, which I just discovered (and fell in love with) at the end of last year. What an amazing talent.
- David Hockney has a new book coming out callesd Spring Cannot Be Cancelled in which he talks about "the importance of our reconnection with nature." Going straight to the top of my 'must read' list.
- Oh dear Medium. What is it with American media companies and unionisation?
- Phil Gyford has reached 50 and has a few things he's learned that he'd like to share. This quote from douglas Coupland really hit home with me:
There used to be occasions in my twenties and probably into my thirties, maybe two or three times a year, when I’d look at what I was doing, where I was, who I was with, and think, “This is it, everything is just right, this is one of those moments.” It was an intense feeling that, right then and there, everything was perfect. Gradually those moments became rarer. I can’t remember if I experienced any of those exact moments in my forties at all. Which isn’t to say I’ve been unhappy. It’s just that perhaps the emotional experience of events, even minor ones, lost intensity as I got older.
- Music this week has to be the new Floating Points and Pharaoh Sanders album. Whew.